A More Complete Match
by The Angel of Mercy
Summary: A happy marriage day, souls bound threefolds.


**[DO NOT REPOST/REUSE MY WORK(S) WITHOUT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND PERMISSION]**

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Pairing(s): Ichigo/Rukia, Zangetsu/Sode no Shirayuki, Hichigo/Dark Rukia

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A beautiful day, the sky sunny and nearly cloudless, and finally, the world was peaceful for once and had been for almost a good decade, much to the joy of Seireitei and those who held it dear. What marked this particular day as beautiful outside its general pleasantness, in the first few days of the turning in the spring season, was that it was the day in which Kurosaki Ichigo, newly titled Captain of the 8th Division, and Kichiki Rukia, newly titles Captain of the 13th Division, were to wed before friends and family.

It had already been an hour since Ichigo and Rukia had exchanged their vows before their many witnesses in the outskirts of Seireitei on grassy dirt besides a glimmering lake. The wedding was not grand, but everyone who mattered was there and that was all the two wanted on their special day. Now, the sun setting on the horizon, Ichigo and Rukia were still being congratulated and taking the chance to speak to all their guests.

"Congratulations, Rukia," Byakuya said with a smile, small but genuine. He was looking at her with such pride and affection, and Rukia returned the sentiment.

"Thank you, Nii-sama," she replied, her purple eyes shining and her entire being glowing with joy.

Byakuya glanced over to Ichigo. "Don't forget your duty, Ichigo," he reminded the former human, "to protect the Kuchiki pride."

Ichigo grinned, giving his now brother-in-law a thumbs up. "To my last breath, Byakuya," he affirmed, "to my last breath."

Byakuya nodded once in acknowledgement. Then Renji ran up to them, holding a sake bottle in hand with a grin. "Hey," he greeted in passing, handing the drink to the long haired raven. "Matsumoto brought some really good stuff today. Drink up, Captain. You can't miss out."

Byakuya looked at the bottle in his hand, unimpressed. "I don't 'miss out' on many things, Renji," he said, taking a sip. Still, his expression did not change. "My cellar has better sake than this."

Renji laughed, scratching the back of his neck. "It's just an excuse to get you drinking," he confessed. "It's Rukia's wedding, Captain. You need to relax."

"More like he needs to relax all the time," Ichigo muttered under his breath, to which Rukia elbowed him in the ribs playfully yet firmly.

Byakuya huffed, yet to return the bottle. He glanced over to the blankets covering patches of grass piled with food and people. "I see namagashi," he commented, walking towards the small sweets. "Come, Renji."

"Yes, Captain," Renji replies, obeying happily as he gave his newlywed friends one look over his shoulder before sitting on the blanket beside his lover.

Rukia watched her brother and her best friend with fond eyes, her heart feeling warm. "I hope it won't be long before we'll get to see Nii-sama and Renji's wedding day," she said, hugging Ichigo at his side.

Ichigo snorted. "It'd be a huge ass wedding," he commented. "I'd like to think it's so Byakuya can shove it in the other nobles' faces. Man, the kind of things they say about Renji really pisses me off. The only reason they don't think I'm a _lowly dog _is because I fought death and won."

"I feel the same, Ichigo," Rukia said, nodding elegantly. "They speak much harsher of him than they did me when Nii-sama first adopted me. Their dissents decreased when I became captain, or at least they stopped saying it as loud."

"Really? Well, I'm going to have to keep a closer ear at family reunions now. I'm going to pick a fight with everyone there who'd call you anything less than what you deserve to be called. I'm pretty sure that's defending the Kuchiki pride, or at least _my _pride because you're my midget, midget."

Rukia chuckled. "I love you too, carrot top."

Ichigo beamed.

"Ichigo-kun, Rukia-san," a cheery voice called out, drawing their attention from each other. It was Orihime, the picture of sunshine, followed by Ishida, the idea of moonbeams. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"Kurosaki," Ishida said curtly with a nod. "Kuchiki."

"Thank you, Orihime," Rukia replied back, smiling in gratitude. "It means a lot to me."

"Hey," Ichigo replied with a small smile. "How you two enjoying the party?"

"It's going great," Orihime answered happily, her arms wrapped around her fiancé's waist as she hugged his side. "It's such a beautiful day for a wedding, and you two look absolutely wonderful."

Rukia nodded in gratitude. "I'm glad," she said. "How are plans for your wedding?"

Orihime perked up even more, clapping her hands together. "We've decided in the color scheme just yesterday," she replied, "orange and white, but we're still working on the menu. Every time I bring up a meal, Uryuu won't agree."

"That's because not everyone has your particular taste, Orihime," Ishida nervously answered, pressing his glasses back with a delicate finger. "Maybe we should ask Sado on what he thinks people might like to eat."

"Sure! Sado is sure to have some good ideas."

"Well, he does have good taste," Ichigo added, listening into his oldest friend's guitar in the background. Chad was going going to be the musician at Orihime and Ishida's wedding as well when the date came along in three months.

Then he heard an annoying sound coming up behind them. "Ichigo! Give your old man a hug!"

In an automatic response, Ichigo took two steps to the side and pulled Rukia with him, letting his father land on the ground as the older man attempted to hug his son and his daughter-in-law. Orihime gave the two newlyweds a wave and she and Ishida walked away, giving the three a moment.

"Are you alright, Isshin?" Rukia politely asked the former shinigami, already used to the man's antics.

"Of course, I am, Rukia-chan," Isshin said, getting back up with the same amount of enthusiasm.

"Where's Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo asked, curious.

Isshin pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Karin's hanging out with Toshiro and Momo, and Yuzu's eating sweets with Yachiru and Kenpachi. But that's not what I came over to talk to you about."

Isshin paused for a moment, his expression not too open and yet too closed off as usual. Instead, there was a simple smile on his face as he looked at Ichigo and Rukia with gentle fondness and great affection for the both of them.

"Your mother would have been so happy for you, son," the man said genuinely, his hands placed on his hips. "You're married, Ichigo, and so grown up. You've become the kind of man she would have been proud of. You've become strong and can carry out your namesake. She would have cried in joy for you, Ichigo, and would have loved you so much like her daughter, Rukia. I'm also proud of the both of you. You've saved the world a few times and protected the ones you loved, but I'm so happy that you're happy and that's what matters to me. Congratulations, Ichigo, Rukia. I wish you best."

Ichigo couldn't help but smile, bearing through the sudden desire to shed some tears, but instead he reached out and hugged his old man, who hugged back with a grip that was comforting and steady. "Thanks, Dad," he replied, staying the embrace for a moment before pulling away, a smile still on his face.

Rukia then took her turn to embrace Isshin as well. "Thank you, Isshin," she said softly with a gentle shine in her eyes. "Thank you for your happiness."

"Anything for my favorite daughter-in-law," Isshin joked but spoke truthfully.

They parted, and the newlyweds continued on a pleasant conversation with Isshin, who told them a few anecdotes of his own newlywed life a long time ago. It was then Urahara came up to them, hiding the lower half of his face with his fan.

"Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san," he greeted with a smile in his tone, nodding once to Isshin, "I have a wedding gift for you."

Ichigo gave the storekeeper a weary look as Rukia raised an eyebrow in question. "What kind of gift?" the bridegroom asked carefully, concerned about the nature of the gift.

That didn't faze Urahara at all, who just laughed. "Well, I think that the two of you have one of the most beautiful relationships I have ever witness in my entire life. Not only do the two of you share a love and now a life together but also your _zanpaktō _spirits from what you two have told me. It would be pitiful if _they _weren't here to celebrate your union as well and give them a chance to celebrate their own, so Yoruichi, if you would please."

When Urahara finished his sentence, there were two blurs that fell down from the sky and went to four corners of the general area of the wedding before Yoruichi and Soifon appeared before them, making a sequence of quick hand gestures.

Soft white lights from the four corners drew the attention of the wedding guests as snow began to fall over them, swirling gently towards the middle glowing it's pure color. Slowly, the snow started to take form of a womanly figure, and finally, they combined in a blinding light that lasted for only a moment. Many of the guests shielded their eyes with their hands and we're surprised to see Sode no Shirayukiin her human form, her long lilac hair and her kimono white as snow. She was elegant and gracious like her master, and they shared a similar bright beauty.

"Rukia-sama, Ichigo-sama," Shirayuki politely greeted with a slight bow, "I wish you the happiest years to come and may you receive many blessings."

Rukia smiled, the first to speak. "Thank you, Shirayuki," she said, walking over to her zanpaktō spirit to hold her gently by the hand.

Ichigo nearly jumped in fright when he heard Zangetsu say his name behind him. The orange hair shinigami turned around. "Congratulations, Master," the dark spirit said with a nod.

"Thanks, Zangetsu," Ichigo then said with a small smile. "Now go to Shirayuki. We're celebrating you too."

Zangetsu nodded again, walking past his master and towards his own love and her master. "Shirayuki," the spirit said gently, his eyes affectionate behind his shades. He held a hand out to her, and Rukia took a step back, happiness in her eyes.

Shirayuki looked over to her love with a soft expression and gave him her hand, which Zangetsu held gently and brought it up his lips to kiss her knuckles. "Zangetsu-sama," she spoke in a whisper, one word saying everything.

The guests were watching, some now understanding the relationship between the two spirits, and they were also happy for them. Isshin, with a loud laugh, quickly grabbed a bottle of sake and raised it up in the air. "To Shirayuki and Zangetsu!" he shouted with a broad smile. "May they too share happiness together as long as they live!"

The guests cheered, raising drinks of their own in the air in imitation, "To Shirayuki and Zangetsu!" and the two spirits smiled fondly back at everyone.

Then there was a cackle, interrupting the light mood of the party. There, seated on a flat rock was Ichigo, but this one was a Hollow, joining in the celebration with a drink in his hand. Urahara was a bit surprised at his appearance, showing that he did not expect this to happen. They had forgotten that Ichigo had more than one version of his spirit.

"Congratulations, King!" the Hollow cried out with a smirk. "You too, Zangetsu!"

"You," Ichigo said in a waning as he gave his inner Hollow a glare.

The Hollow put up his hands in mock surrender. "I won't make trouble for ya, King. Promise. Now everybody, go back to celebrating or else ya wasting all the drinks." He laughed, taking a sip of his drink.

The guests looked weary of the inner Hollow of Ichigo in physically form, either out of uncertainty as to why there was a Hollow version of the bridegroom or fear/caution because they knew of its existence.

Rukia was the one to release the tension as she took the bottle from Isshin and walked over to the Hollow, much to Ichigo's protest. She raised the bottle at the inverted version of her new husband with a strong look in her purple eyes. "Here, here!" she said, waiting for him to respond with a keeping smile.

The Hollow laughed, raising his bottle up too and tapped their drinks together, and they both drowned the entire thing on one sip, the light mood coming back to the party as a few of the guests laughed and cheered. The guests went back to talking and drinking, Zangetsu trusting the Hollow enough to turn his focus back to Shirayuki, and Ichigo was standing where he stood, the corner of his lips lifted with pride at how capable his wife was.

Again, he almost jumped in fright when he felt a presence behind him, and he quickly turned around again and saw Rukia. But this wasn't Rukia. Rukia's eyes were the shade of _purple _not lavender and certainly wasn't cat-eyed shaped, and Rukia was wearing the finest white silk wedding clothes—a gift from Byakuya—a tattered kimono that exposed her legs mid-thigh down, barefooted with a gold sash around her waist. But Ichigo met her before, _fought _her before, and knew she had no intention of harm, the lack of a large scythe as evidence of that.

Instead, she was silent, looking up at Ichigo with a blank shine in her eyes as she peeked out from behind Ichigo to look at his Hollow version. She looked up at Ichigo again, silently asking him for a favor, to which the former substitute shinigami was glad to do.

"Hey, Hichigo," Ichigo called out, lightly mocking his inner Hollow with the nickname, and got the attention of the Hollow version of him and Rukia, as well as Urahara who was curious and Isshin.

Ichigo took a step to the side to reveal the Hollow version of his wife, whose eyes widened in surprise to see her own counterpart. Suddenly, a white blur ran past her and towards Ichigo, missing him by an inch as Hollow Ichigo lifted up Dark Rukia in the arm like the greatest prize, holding her up on one arm with the other holding onto her hand.

"I found you, Princess," Hollow Ichigo said with a excited joy as he pressed the palm of her hand against his lips as he placed butterflies on her pale skin.

Dark Rukia looked down at him with a blank expression, but her free hand was placed on his shoulder, not to keep herself steady but to slowly run her hand up his white neck to his hair where she rubbed her thumb tenderly against his forehead. For the moment, they were off in their very own world.

"I didn't know that she still existed," Rukia said, now back at her husband's side.

"You wouldn't have ever know, Rukia - sama," Shirayuki replied, her and Zangetsu closer to their masters. "Your inner Hollow had lost all her powers, but from the very moment she was created, she became a part of you. When Ichigo-sama defeated her, only her existence was left and she retreated to the deepest level of your mind."

"How did she and Hichigo meet?" Ichigo asked, a little confused. His inner Hollow was in the same world as Zangetsu, who would have at least told Ichigo about the Hollow's lover.

"The same way Shirayuki and I met, Master," Zangetsu answered. "When you and Mistress connected in both body and spirit, your worlds combined into one, connected all levels together. Shirayuki and I drew closer together, but your inner Hollow decided to trek deeper into Mistress's world and one day found Mistress's inner Hollow. Even when the worlds parted, whenever the two of you were in close proximity of each other, a bridge would be created between the gaps and Shirayuki would come to me while he went to her."

Shirayuki covered part of her face in modesty as she let out a small laugh. "Your Hollow would look so disappointed whenever the two of you parted, Ichigo - sama," she added with amusement. "He spoke about her many times, and whenever I go to her myself, she would become a little less cold when I mention him."

Yoruichi snickered, patting Ichigo on the back. "You two are amazing, aren't you?" she asked rhetorically in mirth. "Not only are you zanpaktō spirits in love with each other but also your inner Hollows? There cannot be a more complete match."

Ichigo and Rukia looked to each other, and they laughed.

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**A/N: **Originally uploaded on Ao3 under AknightOfAGoodKing on 8/29/18.


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